


I'm Not Dead So Today is a Win

by Itsallgoodman



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Origin Story, Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-15 23:47:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11241810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itsallgoodman/pseuds/Itsallgoodman
Summary: When Bruce discovers his parent's murder was contracted out through a supranational assassin syndicate, he vows to take down the organization that murdered his family and uncover who ordered the hit. After years of dismantling the syndicate piece by piece in the shadows as Batman, Bruce's search takes him to Metropolis where Superman's no-killing policy earns him a Kryptonian chaperone. Bruce isn't sure if he's looking for justice or revenge anymore, but if it takes a monster to destroy a monster, then so be it.





	1. The Hunt Begins

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me in a fever dream. Bruce in a black dress suit, with a face mask, killing assassins because goddamnit they needed killing. This is going to get bloody and eventually mature before too long. My idea here is a Bruce Wayne that is a consequentialist, and who, as long as the end result is good, accepts whatever means is necessary. In this darker world, Superman is still a boy scout and doesn't condone murder, but he and Batman have an understanding with each other. Clark keeps out of Gotham and Brucr keeps out of Metropolis. They do not know each other's secret identity because Superman thought it would be impolite to peek. 
> 
> Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

_Hit it until it breaks._

 

A man in black is on the roof. Bruce takes the stairs three at a time. He knows he can make it. The man checks the magazine to the sniper rifle he’s pulled out of a guitar case. _24 steps left_. The gun is fixed on a stand. _18 steps_. The gun is mounted. _15 steps_. The scope is adjusted. _9 steps_. A finger brushes the trigger. _6 steps_. A man on the street steps out of a black SUV. _3 steps_. **Bang**.

 

The sound of the rooftop door flying open sends the sniper jumping. “What the fuck?!” The gun in the assailant's hands goes off by mistake and hits the ground as he wheels around to face Bruce. There are screams on the street below from Metropolis citizens.

 

Bruce doesn't give him an extra second and lunges for the man. He grabs the gun still being held by the assassin and pulls back sharply ripping it from his grasp. Dodging a quick blow to his face, Bruce drags the man by his shirt over to the roof entrance and slams him into the steel surface. The man hunches over and Bruce’s right knee collides with the man’s solar plexus over and over until he can hear something crack.

 

“Who is sending you the contracts?” The man is on his knees coughing blood onto Bruce’s feet. Bruce knows he doesn’t have much time. “Answer me. Now.” He reaches down and presses his hand into the man’s fractured chest plate. A howl springs from the man’s bloody throat.

 

“Luthor! Lex Luthor!” The man is writhing on the ground.

 

Bruce steps back and pulls his gun out of the cross draw position in his waistband. He looks the sniper dead in the eye. “Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.”

 

“No wait please I’ll do anything! Just don’t...Superman?” The man looks through Bruce’s legs at a man hovering off the side of the forty-story rooftop.

 

“I think that’s enough. Put the gun down.” Superman watches as Bruce puts the gun back into his waistband. “Now what exactly is going on here Batman?”

 

“This man was hired to assassinate the head of the Global Water Initiative who’s in Metropolis on business for the time being. I stopped him.”

 

Superman looked over at the would-be assassin who had passed out from pain. “You could have killed him.”

 

“That was the idea.”

 

Clark clenched his fists. “How you take care of business in your city is exactly that, your business. But when you step into my town, Batman it’s my rules.”

 

“That’s easy for a guy who’s impervious to everything to say.”  

 

“I’m not sure you get to lecture me on taking the easy path.” Clark stepped onto the roof and approached Bruce.

 

“What do you want?”

 

“If there are assassins running around Metropolis I want to know about it. You’re going to fill me in on what's going on. Right now.”

 

Bruce glared under his mask, but he figured this was a fight he couldn’t win, at least not without the right tools. “I’ve been after a supranational organization of assassins called Venor for about seven years now. I’ve managed to uncover that the whole syndicate is run by a board of eight members, four of whom I now know the identities of.”

 

“And what does this board do exactly?”

 

“The board serves as the leaders of the syndicate. They send out contracts around the globe of people who they, or their clients, want dead. Whichever assassin kills the target first gets the money designated in the contract while-”

 

“while the board can get rid of anyone in their way.”

 

“Exactly boy scout.”

 

Clark frowned. “So what are you trying to do?”

 

Bruce looked at the still unconscious body. “I’m going to make them pay. All of them. For every family they've ever destroyed, for every life they’ve ever stolen, and if that means permanent solutions I’ll live with the consequences.”

 

“That makes you no better than them.”

 

“By the time I’m done, there will be a whole lot less of _them_ for me to be no better than.”

 

“...I won’t let you do this.” Bruce tensed. “At least…not alone.” Bruce relaxed his muscles, but he was not certain he was thrilled about having what amounted to the world's most overpowered chaperone. “Come on Batman. I’m not one to brag, but there are a _few_ upsides to having me on your side.”

 

“Fine. But you’re taking my lead on this alien.”

 

“Hurtful. Now, where do we start?”

 

Bruce turned to face a skyscraper to the east. A giant neon “LEXCORP” sign blazed against the setting sun. "An old friend of yours." 

 

 


	2. Gearing Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Clark stock-up and set a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clark wants to confront Luthor head-on. Bruce has other plans. I wrote this at one in the morning so please forgive some grammar flubs here and there.

 

  _But be the serpent under’t_

 

A few drops of rain started to fall from the sky. Clark and Bruce stepped out onto the asphalt dotted with little black circles formed by the rain as they made their way down the Metropolis sidewalk. A slick stripe traced the mask covering Bruce’s eyes and rolled down his angular jaw. The man of steel wore a long tan trench coat that covered his costume and cape. Next to him, under the same umbrella, Bruce walked in a matching black trench coat with the collar popped.

 

“Mind telling me why you had these on hand?” Clark gestured to their coats. People rushed off the streets to look for shelter from the rain inside the city’s shining towers.

 

Bruce continued a few brisk paces forward. “I have caches set up around many cities with supplies I might need offhand.”

 

“Oh. Okay. I mean it just seems unnecessary to walk down the street. I can just fly us straight into Luthor’s office.”

 

Bruce huffed. “Yeah, maybe we could have done that an hour ago if you hadn’t insisted on taking our friend from the rooftop to the police and having him processed. Luthor has half of this town in his pocket, and he’s probably already been tipped off. He’ll be expecting you to do something like burst into his office.”

 

“What does it matter? I’ve had run-ins with Luthor before and he’s never beat me.”

 

“Luthor is sitting up in his office on top of a skyscraper with his name on it. A known super criminal. And you have the guts to brag to me that in your tic-tac-toe version of justice you scratch every time? Super job you’re doing here.”

 

“Because just murdering him in cold blood is the answer? That’s not the way. It can’t be.” They turned a corner and walked down a back alley. “Where are you taking us anyway?”

 

“How many people have suffered at Luthor’s hands because of that kind of thinking I-” Bruce stopped and pressed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and his index finger while sighing. “We’ve had this fight before. The first time we met. And the solution is still the same as it was then. What happens in my city is my business, and I’ll avoid unnecessary killing while in Metropolis.”

 

“ _No_ killing while in Metropolis.” Superman corrected.

 

Bruce didn’t reply. “We’re here.” They reached the end of the alley. Bruce wheeled back what look like a normal dumpster to reveal a low, square door. The door had a keypad and Bruce typed in a quick **1047**. Clark heard a slight click and the door slid away into the alley wall. Bruce made his way inside to reveal a single room.

 

Dim lights flickered on at the flip of a switch to reveal walls covered in weapons. Handguns and rifles lined the left wall while the right was covered in push daggers and throwing knives shaped like bats. “I need to stock up, and we need a plan.”  

 

Clark picked up one of the bat knife looking things. “You really leaned into the bat persona,” he said shedding his trench coat. Bruce was on the other side of the room taking off his jacket and strapping on an underarm holster on top of his white dress shirt. Clark had noticed even under the suit jacket that Bruce was well-built, but now with only a shirt covering his chest, Clark could see the slightly damp shirt was clinging to a row of hardened muscle.

 

“I picked up the name a few years back. I was tracking down my first lead on Venor in Gotham and picking off assassins there one by one until I got to someone who could tell me something useful. Apparently, my nocturnal nature and a few assassins mistaking my grappling around for flying earned me the title and it spread around the syndicate.” He checked the magazine to a Glock 34 and slid the firearm into its holster. “Assassins are a superstitious and paranoid lot.”

 

“Unlike you of course,” Clark teased. He watched Bruce wrap a holster around his ankle and load a Heckler & Koch P30L into the black leather. “I don’t see why the guns are necessary. Batman, I’m perfectly capable of protecting us both against whatever Luthor has in store without the use of deadly force.”

 

Bruce slipped on a muted yellow belt that held his grappling hooks and an impractical amount of batarangs. “I’m perfectly capable of incapacitating without deadly force. Besides,” Bruce slipped back on his black suit jacket and readjusted the white and gray mask covering his eyes. “There are things a man can feel that are worse than death.”

 

“Heaven help me,” Clark muttered.

 

“Sorry. Not my area.” Bruce turned and sat down at a computer on the far wall. He started typing and pulled up a list of known locations Luthor frequents. “He’ll be expecting something public from you because as you mentioned previously you’re a fan of the direct confrontation.”

 

“And as I’ve said, I can handle it.”

 

“That might be the case, but if we just apprehend Luthor we might never know who else is on the board. Rumor is that there is going to be a meeting of the board in Metropolis sometime soon. Now that I know Luthor is the hosting member, I can guess that he’ll be the one picking the location in the city.”

 

“So we’re going to tail him?”

 

“That’s the plan boy scout. My prediction is that he will wait to see if you’ve discovered his connection to the assassin we caught earlier. When you don’t confront him in the next few days he’ll assume you know nothing and continue to go about his regularly scheduled life of crime.”

 

“Then we wait for him to lead us to the meeting.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“So what do we do now?” Clark looked at the man in front of the computer and shifted closer. He could smell rain and aftershave.

 

“I’ll call you when I need you.” Bruce’s eyes were still trained on the screen.

 

“But how will-”

 

“I just will.” He turned in his chair to look up at Clark. “Stay off of Luthor’s radar for the next few days.”

 

“I could stay. Help you work.”

 

“Thanks but I work better alone. I assure you. I’ll call you when I need you.”

 

“I’m not sure I like the idea of leaving you unsupervised in Metropolis for any period of time.”

 

Bruce turned back to the computer screen. “I doubt I can go anywhere or do anything without you super-seeing or super-hearing my movements. I just need the space.”

 

Clark hesitated for a moment then closed his eyes listening to Batman’s heartbeat. It was slow and strong. He noted its rhythm. “Fine. Just...just be safe.”

 

It struck Bruce as an odd request, but he just looked at the caped superhero and gave a curt nod before Superman walked out the room and flew off.

 

Bruce pulled up a security camera feed from LexCorp on one monitor and an online edition of the Daily Planet on another. “Now, we wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See ya next chapter! Leave a kudos or a comment if you feel that motion in the ocean ;)


	3. A Heart of Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce finds Clark, and Clark strips for work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my longest chapter yet, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out! Enjoy :)

 

_Everything is falling apart according to plan._

 

Clark sat hunched over his desk in the Daily Planet’s bullpen. Ringing phones and the click of keyboards fell away into the background of the reporter’s mind as he twisted the end of a pen back and forth across his lips. The white glow of the empty word document on his monitor reflected in Clark’s glasses as he drifted into his thoughts.

 

“Hey Smallville,” the familiar sound of Lois’ voice pulled Clark out of his musing. “That draft on the opening of the new subway station in New Troy was due on Perry’s desk two days ago.”

 

“Right, sorry Lois.” Clark looked up from his seat and gave an embarrassed smile. “I’m working on that now.”

 

Lois glanced at the empty word document on Clark’s screen. “Right.” She sighed uncrossing her arms. “Listen Kent, you’ve been distracted for the past week. If there’s something you need to talk about you can come to me.”

 

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat Clark smiled at Lois. “I appreciate that Lois, but I’m fine. Truly.”

 

Lois gave the reporter a once over. “Alright, but the offer still stands.” Clark felt the tightness in his chest subside as she walked away. Something about that woman and her ability to uncover the truth intimidated him. “Oh, and Clark” the tightness in his chest returned instantly as Lois turned back around to address him. “I don’t know how you do things in Smallville, but at the Planet we try to turn our work in on time.” She winked playfully at him. Clark thought he might have a heart attack.

 

After about an hour of catching up on his assigned stories, Clark found himself thinking about the man in black again. The funny thing was, he couldn’t really describe why he was so worried. Batman had handled countless dangerous situations without Superman’s assistance so why did leaving him to his own devices in Metropolis sit so wrong with Clark? ‘‘Maybe because you’d like to keep Metropolis from falling apart while he’s here,’’ he thought to himself. “Maybe…”

 

At the end of a long day catching up on late articles Clark biked home to his high-rise at 344 Clinton Street. As he glided down the streets he couldn’t help but notice how different Metropolis looked at night. The sparkle of the glass on the tall buildings and the sheen of the silver on the business district’s skyscrapers were dulled. The occasional box of light shone out of a lit office window or two, but, for the most part, the city fell asleep with its citizens. Clark sometimes preferred it this way, these peaceful moments reminded him of Smallville.

 

Stepping off the elevator onto the third floor of the apartment building, Clark put his bike on one shoulder and started to fish his keys out his pocket. When he reached apartment 3-D he stuck the key in the doorknob only to discover that the door was already unlocked. Clark slowly opened the door to his apartment. He could hear a heartbeat inside. A familiar rhythm played in his ears. “So I don’t suppose you are here because you’d like to do an interview with Clark Kent?” He set his bike down by the door and flipped on a light switch.

 

“Mild-mannered reporter. It suits you.” Bruce turned around from the sliding glass doors he was staring out of.

 

“I’d comment on my ability to see your secret identity, but one of us has the courtesy to refrain from such a breach of privacy.”

 

“Careful not to fall off your moral high ground Clark. That would be one steep fall.”  Bruce was wearing a black turtleneck in addition to his usual outfit of a mask, belt, and various gun holsters.

 

Clark lifted an eyebrow but chose to move on. “So I take it this isn’t a social call.”

 

“I’ve been tracking Luthor’s movements, and he keeps going to an old plastic factory in Southside that closed a few years back.”

 

“I remember that. Lois was convinced something shady was going on because as soon as the plastic company that owned it was bought out by LexCorp its factory was shut down.”

 

“I suspect that there’s more going on there than polymers collecting dust. If his recent travel pattern remains the same, then Luthor should be there again tonight.”

 

“Do you think that’s where the board is going to meet?” Clark watched as Batman fiddled with one of the mechanisms on his gun.

 

“Not sure. But it’s worth having you use your x-ray vision to get a closer look.”

 

“Alight, well let’s go.” Clark started taking off his clothes.

 

“What are you-” Bruce looked visibly startled.

 

“Huh? Oh! My suit, my suit is under my clothes.”

 

This time it was Bruce’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “And you just wear it all the time? Where do you keep the cape?” He watched as Clark nervously undid the rest of his shirt buttons.

 

Clark’s fingers hooked the loops on his pants and slipped them off to reveal the very blue and very tight costume underneath. “It slips into my work sui- you know what, can we just go?”

 

“Sure. I’ll meet you there.” Bruce started to open the doors to the balcony.

 

“What? I’ll just fly us there.”

 

Bruce didn’t have the chance to object before he felt his legs being swept out from under him. The world became a flurry of motion rushing past his eyes. When it finally slowed down to a manageable pace, he looked up to see an arm under his legs and felt another wrapped behind his back. “Sorry about that,” Bruce saw the vibrant lights of Metropolis shining hundreds of feet beneath them. “I fly fast out of my apartment so that I’m not seen. Once I get into the air I like taking it slow again.” The wind seemed to made Clark come alive. Bruce noticed the way the air pushed through the man’s thick black hair and battered around the single curl that fell onto Clark’s face.

“Sightsee later boy scout.”

 

“Killjoy.” Clark sped up to the factory. They landed outside the gates to the boarded-up gray building behind a pile of tires. There were guards everywhere. As if on cue, Clark heard the hum on an engine approaching. “Someone is coming.” Sure enough, a black limo pulled up to the entrance as two men opened the gates for the vehicle to pass through.

 

“Who’s inside the limo?” Bruce’s eyes were darting around counting how many guards there were outside.

 

“Just Luthor and his driver.”

 

“And the building, what’s inside?”

 

Clark turned his focus to the stone walls of the factory. “I can’t see anything.”

 

“There’s nothing inside?”

 

“No, I mean I can’t see inside of it. Luthor must have lined the walls with lead.”

 

“That’s not suspicious.” Bruce pulled out a pair of binoculars and focused in on Luthor stepping out of the limo and walking into the building.

 

“Okay, what’s our next step?”

 

“Depends. Can you take out those guards without alerting Luthor?”

 

“Sure. One moment” What happened next could only be described by Bruce as a lightning strike. A red and blue line zipped around the building topping guard after guard all in the blink of an eye before manifesting again in front of Bruce in the form of Clark. “They are all going to have a killer headache in the morning, but they’ll be fine.”

 

“Bruce unholstered his gun. “Let’s move.”

 

They entered through a side entrance. Superman hovered and Bruce’s feet made almost no noise as they crossed what looked like an old smelting floor. Large metal containers lined the factory. Bruce held up his fist signaling to Clark to hold. The sound of metal steps echoed softly a the other end of the giant factory.

 

“Superman. I figured it was only a matter of time until you made your move.” Luthor’s voice crackled through an old sound system. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to join you and your batty friend tonight. No, I’m afraid my little visits here were only in the hopes that you would be stupid to follow me inside.” The metallic steps grew louder. “I believe you remember Metallo? He’s been dying to see you again after your last dance. Seems he resents you putting him in prison. Figures.”

 

Metallo emerged from the end of the room into a large open area on the floor. “Superman, I’ve waited years for this.” The man turned machine then pulled away at its synthetic skin revealing a large shard of kryptonite where a heart should have been.

 

“Ah!” Clark dropped to the ground and backed away instantly at the glow of the rock inside the android body.

 

Luthor’s voice clicked on again. “I have to run. You know how board meetings are, or maybe you don’t. It won’t matter very soon to you either way.”

 

Metallo looked at Batman. “I see you’ve brought a friend. You can die together then.” Bruce darted to the right of the silver machine and started firing rounds. Each time a bullet connected with the hulking mass it bounced off, taking another piece of synthetic skin with it. “That kind of tickles. My turn.” Metallo slammed his fists into the ground. Bruce jumped up holding onto the bottom of an old water pipe to avoid the wave of rocks under him. Metallo gave him no time to recover and lunged at the masked man. A metallic fist connected with the side of Bruce’s left shoulder. A snarl left Bruce’s throat in response to the pain as he fell back against a wall.

 

“Must get him away from Clark,” Bruce thought pulling out a grappling gun from his thigh holster and pointing it to the ceiling on the far side of the factory. Metallo charged Bruce. As a metal arm swung towards him, Bruce shot the grapple into the ceiling and wrapped the wire around the metal wrist before hitting release on the gun. The wire snapped into action heaving the android up and across the room.

 

Bruce ran back over to Clark. “We need to get out of here.” He heard the thud of Metallo dropping from the ceiling back onto the ground. “Now.” Clark groaned and pushed himself up. “Get to the door. I’ll hold him off as long as I can, but you need to get out of here.”

 

“Leaving so soon? Oh no, no, no my friends. We’re just getting started.” Bruce shoved Clark out the path of a flying hunk of metal lodged by Metallo. When it hit the ground the impact knocked back Clark onto his knees.

 

Lunging at Metallo, Bruce kicked him straight in his chest knocking him to the ground. Following him to the floor, Bruce slipped his legs under and on top of Metallo’s head and twisted his body to unload a clip from his handgun into the hunk of kryptonite.

 

The sound of the shots stung Bruce’s ears as the reverberation from the floor magnified the noise. The Kryptonite shattered and fell out of the cavity in the android’s chest. Thrashing wildly, Metallo threw Batman off of him and stood back up. “I have about fifteen minutes of reserve power. Plenty of time left to kill you.” Metallo darted at the masked sharpshooter throwing a punch only to have it caught by a weak-looking Clark.

 

“Less concentrated, but still” Clark grunted, “unpleasant.”

 

Metallo whipped his other arm around and punched Superman square in the jaw throwing the caped hero back a few feet. “When I got out Luthor gave me a few upgrades, Superman. Let me help you get acquainted with them.” A laser gun rose up out of the metal man’s forearm. He fired hitting Clark square in the chest.

 

“AAAAH!” Clark howled as a ray of red light enveloped him. Bruce threw a batarang into the opening of the gun causing it to back up and explode in Metallo’s face. The machine man crumpled to the ground before twitching and losing power.

 

Bruce raced back over to Clark lying on the ground. “Superman!” He shook Clark trying to wake him. Sliding off his glove Bruce checked for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. “Hold on Clark.” He pushed a button on his belt calling the batplane.

 

It arrived a few minutes later. Bruce loaded Clark, still unconscious, into the backseat. Clark looked drained. What kind of ray was that? Bruce would make sure the find out, but first, it was time to return to Gotham.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think of the story so far in the comment section! See you next chapter~


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